11th annual Taste of Phoenixville huge success with community

Good Samaritan Shelter held its 11th annual Taste of Phoenixville Thursday night at the Phoenixville Foundry building. Proceeds from the evening support the Good Samaritan Shelter.

This was the first year the event was held at the Foundry building, and the location served well in accommodating the more than 500 people who attended this year, making it the largest Taste of Phoenixville event to date.

Guests enjoyed sampling different dishes from 25 different local restaurants, breweries and catering businesses. There was also dancing to live music by the HythaFam Band.

There was silent auction as well, which featured a plethora of items up for bid including gift baskets, gift certificates, overnight getaways at nearby bed and breakfasts, jewelry and tickets to Great Adventure, among other items.

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Nate Hoffer, the executive director at Good Samaritan was pleased with the evening’s success.

Hoffer said, “The taste of Phoenixville is by far our biggest fundraising even that we do in the course of the year. From a fundraising perspective it’s obviously really important so that we’re able to carry out our services, but the thing that I love is just seeing all the people that are here. It’s not just the staff that makes the shelter a success, it’s all of us together in the community. Seeing all the people here that choose to support us is fantastic. And it’s a great party. It’s a win-win for everybody.”

Hoffer continued, “We’ve had more restaurant participation this year, and we had more auction items this year. Everything this year is on a bigger scale; the venue, the guests… This by far tops any Taste of Phoenixville we’ve ever done.”

Currently Good Samaritan has five houses in Phoenixville, providing shelter for 25 men. During the course of the year, they serve about 130 men in Phoenixville. Hoffer said proceeds go directly to the shelter, providing a roof over someone’s head, a bed to sleep in, food and toiletries.

Said Hoffer, “More importantly, the money goes towards services that our staff provides to help them find work, save money and move out. We have a case management team at the shelter that provides all of those services to all of the guys that live in our program. It only costs us $30 a day per resident to provide food, a home and case management services.”

Hoffer continued, “The money that people give to us at an event like this, all goes to that. It’s helping them live in a safe comfortable home, but it’s not just that, we’re not just a place to rest your head. The whole idea is to help them find work, save money and move out as quickly as possible.”

Good Samaritan is thankful for their sponsors which include Phoenixville Federal Bank and Trust, Phoenixville Foundry, Party Rental, LTD, Robert Ryan Catering and Design, Total Table, County Lines Magazine, Chester County Life Magazine, Advertising without the Agency and Conlin Copy Center.